


It's the Little Things

by TheScholarlyStrumpet (equipoise)



Series: G-Rated Tumblr Prompt-a-thon [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Swanfire - Freeform, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 08:52:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5157677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/equipoise/pseuds/TheScholarlyStrumpet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt: SwanFire? :) Emma is a sweet/zany heiress and enjoys spending time (bugging) her butler Neal (who she's in love with) and he's clueless</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's the Little Things

“Cassidy?” Emma called from across the pool.

Neal looked up from the lunch he was setting on the glass table. “Yes, Miss Swan?”

Emma tread water over to the side of the pool and rested her arms on the lip. “What’s for lunch, today?”

“Roast chicken breast sandwich on wheat toast and a kale and romaine salad,” he gestured toward the plate.

Emma wrinkled her nose. “That sounds…. Healthy.”

“Yes, it does.”

Emma’s parents were very concerned with good nutrition, especially since their only daughter had a tai kwan do competition coming up next week. Even though she was 18, she was still living at home until college started in the Fall. Which meant following their ridiculous rules about what she could eat and wear. Or how late she could stay out at night.

On top of that – and despite being “old money” – Emma’s folks didn’t believe in allowances, which meant Emma had to work part time if she wanted any pocket money. But with all her Honors courses and extracurricular activities, there was just never enough time. Finally, schoolwas finished and almost all her other courses were wrapping up. After the competition, she’d have nothing but free time until she moved onto her college campus.

The only upside of this imprisonment was getting to spend time with the new houseboy, Neal Cassidy. He was not much older than she was, a college drop-out saving up to go back to school. He wasn’t from around here, but other than that tidbit, Emma had never heard him talk about his past. And lord knows she’d tried her best to ferret it out of him.

Emma had a knack for reading people. But Neal Cassidy… well, he was a bit of a puzzle. He had applied to work as basically a servant (and how embarrassing was it to have servants in this day and age?) even though he was clearly well educated. He probably could have gotten a much better job, somewhere he’d be wearing a white collar. Emma was secretly glad that he hadn’t.

She’d had a bit of a crush on him since the moment they met. He’d caught her stealing some cash from her mother’s purse. Just a couple dollars to pitch in for the keg that weekend. Instead of ratting her out, he’d mentioned that she shouldn’t snap the top closure because Mary Margaret (Emma’s mother) never did. If it was closed, she might notice the purse had been tampered with.

Emma had thanked him, red-cheeked and tongue-tied. Very little could induce that kind of state in Emma Swan, but apparently this 20-something houseboy with a roguish smile and wavy dark hair just had that effect on her.

Despite letting her get away with the petty theft, Neal didn’t seem inclined to breaking any other house rules. Except for slipping her a snickers once or twice when Mary Margaret went on that juicing kick and all meals in the family came in liquid form for a week. Thankfully, MM saw the error of her ways pretty quickly on that one.

Emma’s mouth twisted as she looked up at Neal. “Don’t suppose you’ve got a sleeve of Oreos hidden somewhere?”

Neal gave her that enigmatic little half-smile she could swear her reserved just for her. “Afraid not.” He glanced around before crouching down close to where she leaned on the pool ledge. “I might be able to scare up some potato chips later, though. If you’re good.”

Emma rolled her eyes at him, her heartbeat picking up its pace slightly. “What? Are you saying I’m not the poster child for good behavior? Don’t let Mary Margaret hear that.”

Neal chuckled. “Heaven forbid. Don’t worry, kid. Your secret’s safe with me.” He winked before rising to his full height and returning to the house.

With a sigh, Emma returned to her solitary laps. There was a swimming competition at the end of the summer and her parents would probably expect her to participate. Though she really wasn’t sure she wanted to. Still, it was better to be prepared. She swam until her lungs were burning. When she pulled herself from the water and toweled off, the bland chicken sandwich was still waiting. But beside it, half hidden in a napkin, was a small bag of Lay’s potato chips. 


End file.
